ALBION will have to smash their transfer record to land Shane Long as they rival West Ham for the £8 million-rated striker.

The Baggies have been after the 24-year-old all summer but are not prepared to stump up the cash that Reading are demanding for their prized asset.

It is believed that on Monday the Royals rejected an initial bid of £7 million with add-ons from West Ham for the Irishman, however, the recently relegated side are now preparing a second bid in the hope that they can land their man.

The Hammers are well known to be ruthless in the transfer market and tend to get their targets more times than they miss out.

The capture of Kevin Nolan was a classic example as Sam Allardyce managed to lure away his former captain and convince him to drop down into the Championship.

Albion were leading the chase for the former Cork City forward who bagged 25 goals in all competitions last season but now their determination to land him will be tested as they must at least match West Ham’s bid.

Borja Valero is the current record signing and only a bid over the £4.7m they paid Real Mallorca back in 2008 will be enough to acquire his services.

Reading have said all along that they will not sell their star striker to a Championship rival but manager Brian McDermott confirmed they would be willing to do business with a Premier League club should it meet their valuation.

Long bagged two goals as Reading beat Northampton 3-0 over the weekend and has previously insisted that it’s ‘business as normal’ until he hears otherwise.

The 21-capped international is Hodgson’s top attacking target as he desperately attempts to bolster Albion’s strikeforce before the start of the season.

Negotiations to bring Ben Foster to the club are also on-going.

The Blues keeper is the man Hodgson has identified to replace the departed Scott Carson and the club are thought to be focussing their attentions solely on the 28-year-old.

It’s been a frustrating summer for Baggies fans as they wait for the ‘wow’ signing to arrive at The Hawthorns.

Zoltan Gera’s rehabilitation is still running smoothly but he’s still not at a stage where the club are able to sign him meaning that the only new arrivals so far are Gareth McAuley and Billy Jones.

The Hungarian had an ankle ligament operation three weeks ago and is still working his way back towards fitness before a deal can be officially confirmed.

Despite the on-going transfer search, tying Youssouf Mulumbu down to a long-term deal is a major coup for the club after the fans favourite extended his contract until 2015.

The fact that the 24-year-old recognised that Albion are a team on the up was even more important.

“The club has shown me the desire in every respect to stay at the club,” he said.

“It means they want to build up a big team and I’m glad to be involved.